Tabbies and Calicoes
by Miki-mouse716
Summary: After finding himself back in contact with an old schoolmate from years ago, Jake finds himself falling for the cousin of Callie Briggs. As their friendship begins to grow, he believes that he's no good for her, as they are worlds apart. But things change when precious lives end up in the wrong hands.
1. Reunion

**Hello everyone! I'm taking a crack at rewriting my old SWAT Kats story. If you've read " _A Strong Bond"_ in the past, thank you for reading and showing interest in this new version. If you're new to this, welcome! Please enjoy this new version and review.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SWAT Kats, but Naomi Briggs belongs to me.**

 **Chapter 1 - Reunion**

T-Bone guided the Turbokat into a smooth turn as it entered its final descent into the underground hangar. A minute later, the Turbokat entered the tunnel as the the door closed behind it. T-Bone halted the jet to a stop and waited as it was lifted to the next level. Razor let a yawn escape his lips and stretched as the cockpit door opened. The dynamic duo jumped out and T-Bone finally stretched as he look at Razor.

"Another villain down, huh Razor." T-Bone asked.

Dr. Viper was trying to steal mutagens from Megakat Biochemical Labs once again. This was the third time this month he had attempted to help himself to the lab's generous inventory of advanced and experimental chemicals and mutagens. Razor had cracked his knuckles before removing his helmet.

"Yeah. I wonder what he was up to this time. I'm getting sick of busting him this month." he replied with an annoyed scowl. T-Bone returned the expression. "Yeah, I feel ya. I'm tired."

"Yeah, me too, but we have some repairs to finish. The day isn't over yet. Let's hop to it!" he said while walking to their lockers. T-Bone sighed and rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, you're right…" he said as he slowly trailed behind his two kats traded their thrilling and mysterious vigilante identities for their less exciting mechanic and civilian identities as plain, old Chance Furlong and Jake Clawson. Chance closed his locker door and sighed again.

"Fun's over!" Chance said.

"Back to the grease pit!" Jake replied.

Before they returned to the shop, Chance walked to his beloved wall of tallies. Whenever they had squashed an evil kat's plans, he would mark the wall to signify their victory. He grabbed the stamp after dipping it into the ink pad and marked the wall with a huge, cocky grin.

"Take that Feral!" he said as he snickered. One perk of being a SWAT Kat was seeing the seething anger on their former superior's face whenever they one-upped his team of Enforcers. They might've been kicked out of the Enforcers, but he wouldn't trade his adventures of being a SWAT Kat with his best friend, righting the wrongs of evil kats and protecting the innocent for anything. They were Enforcers in their own right—they just better than the ones employed by the Megakat city government. Jake snickered as well.

"Come on, Chance. We've got work to do. We've been gone for a quite a while."

"Yeah, yeah." he replied as they made their way to the main level. After reaching their lobby, he spoke again as Jake turned the "closed" sign to "open" on the window.

"But before we start, I want to see if we made the 5:00 news. Turn the TV on!" he said as he went to the kitchen. Jake granted his request as he used the remote and Chance returned with two cans of milk. He tossed a can to Jake before his reached the couch to join him after opening the garage door. The familiar face of the Kats Eye News' well loved and top anchor promptly appeared on the screen with her soft, feminine smile.

"This is Ann Gora, Kats Eye News. Earlier today for the third time this month, Dr. Viper was trying to steal chemicals from Megakat Biochemical Labs, but unfortunately for him, the SWAT Kats stopped him and saved the day once again! Thank you SWAT Kats! Do you have anything to say Commander Feral?" she asked as she turned to the big, burly kat.

Commander Feral stood next to her with a huge scowl on his face, obviously unhappy with today's outcome. Chance gave the TV a half-lidded snarky smile as Commander Feral continued to fume. _'Yeah, keep fuming you bastard!'_ he thought.

"Saved the day? Are you kidding, Ann?! Those hotshots destroyed almost a whole floor in Megakat Biochemical!" he yelled, complaining once again. "Don't those hotshots know that you shouldn't -"

The commander was quickly silenced by Jake by muting the TV. Chance quickly shot a confusing look at Jake after taking a big gulp of milk.

"What'd you do that for?! I was watching the news." Jake scoffed.

"Ha! Like you care about watching the news! Don't you remember what happened the last couple of times when you listened to Ferals' ranting via our TV?"

Chance's expression changed to irritation. "I told you that was an accident!"

Jake wasn't convinced as it was evident on his face.

"So you throwing a can of milk at the screen, breaking it and spraying black paint on it another time isn't an accident? Sorry bud, but I'm not looking for another TV."

Before Chance could give his rebuttal, the the sound of cars interrupted them. Soon, two feminine voices filled the air. Chance quickly went over to the entrance to see who their impending customers were. He saw Callie closing her car door. His heart jumped in excitement. He had been eying Callie for a while and he didn't miss any opportunity to impress her. He quickly took off his cap, brushed his fur back, put it back on and flashed his best "cool kat" smile as he walked up to her.

"Callie! How are you today?" he asked coolly.

Callie smiled as her eyes met his. "Hi Chance. I'm fine and you?"

He leaned a bit closer to her and smiled, showing off his muscular physique.

"I'm great, just taking a small break from work. Jake and I have gotten a huge load to work with as of late. What can I help you with today? Your car isn't acting up again from last time, is it?"

' _I'll be damned if my last job on her car broke down this quickly!'_ he thought.

"No, my car is fine. I'm not the one you'll be helping today. I'd like you to meet my cousin, Naomi." she said.

She turned and looked back at Naomi and called for her, as she was still sitting in her black car with the window lowered. Naomi quickly looked up from her phone and exited the car to join Callie. Naomi was the same height as Callie, both sporting high heel shoes, Callie with her usual purple and Naomi with blue. Her fur was a tad darker than Callie's and her hair was dark brown, wavy and was lengthy, stopping at the small of her back. Her eyes were a deep, rich forest green color.

"Naomi, this is Chance. He's one of the mechanics that I had told you about."

Naomi smiled pleasantly at Chance. "Hello. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from Callie." she said as she extended her hand for a handshake. "Hello. It's nice to meet you too." He replied back.

Callie looked around for Jake. "Where's Jake, Chance? I'd like for Naomi to meet him too since you both will be working on her car."

Chance flashed another cool smile at Callie. "Oh yes! He's in the shop. I'll call him over." He turned to look inside the garage. "Hey Jake! Callie is here and she wants us to meet someone!"

"Here I come!" he replied. Jake emerged from shop lobby shortly afterwards. He waved and smiled at Callie. "Hey Callie! How are you? Who's our mystery guest?" Callie chuckled a bit at his words and directed his attention to Naomi. "This is my cousin, Naomi. She needs some repair work done on her car so I brought her here. I couldn't just let her go to any old mechanic." she said with a wink.

Jake smiled. "Oh really? That's nice of you, Callie! It's nice to meet you." he said as he extended his hand for a handshake. She had moved a bang from her face and made eye contact with him before shaking his hand. She jumped a bit before really getting a good look at him and shook his hand slowly.

"I'm sorry, did I shock you?" Jake asked. Naomi looked at him a bit closer and shook her head. "No, that's not the issue, forgive me. My name is Naomi. It's nice to meet you. Callie speaks highly of your shop." Jake flashed a sheepish smile at her. "Thank you. We aim to please." Naomi returned the smile. "I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't expect less than excellent from two kats who have received such high praise from Callie."

Naomi observed Jake again. "What was your name again? You look familiar…" Jake flashed an "oh really" expression at Naomi and observed her closely. "Naomi Briggs, I'm assuming, right?" Naomi looked surprised and smiled. "Yes, that's correct." Jake thought a bit harder and came a possible conclusion.

"Did you go to West Megakat High?" Naomi smiled and nodded. "Why, yes I did!" Jake snapped his fingers and smiled. "Naomi! Naomi Briggs! I remember you! You were in the chemistry club! You guys were next door to my engineering club. You were really smart! I remember that you got a full ride to Eastern Megakat University for biochemical engineering! How'd that go for you?"

Naomi smiled proudly as she pointed to her lab coat's lettering that read "MEGAKAT BIOCHEMICAL LABS - DR. BRIGGS".

The two kats gasped as the two she-kats smiled proudly. "Thanks for noticing. Now that you mention it, I do remember you Jake! You were always tinkering with some complex machine. You were quite the dedicated aspiring engineer. Watching you tinker away was interesting. I was impressed by your prowess." she said.

Jake blushed a bit and smiled sheepishly while Naomi smiled at him again.

"Anyways, it's nice to see you again Jake! I can't believe that it's been years since we've seen each other! I definitely know that my car is in good hands now!"

"Likewise, Naomi!"

Callie and Chance looked at each other in confusion as the two reunited kats continued their conversation. Since when did a simple trip to a garage result in such an unexpected reunion?


	2. The Problems that Kats Have

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, but I didn't want to put out badly written work.**

 **Thank you DESGUARDIUS, DimensionJumperAlpha, and 13 for adding this story to their alert list and thank you again 13 and Seeds of Destruction for favoring! Your support is greatly appreciated.**

 **Please enjoy and happy reading! Please review and let me know your thoughts.**

 **Chapter 2 - The Problems that Kats Have**

"What's wrong with your car, Naomi? Callie said that you needed some repairs?" Jake asked.

Naomi looked over at her black sedan. It had a nice sized dent it in from falling debris from Megakat Biochemical Labs. She shuttered at the thought of her possibly being in the car or around it when the concrete slab fell, but she thanked her nine lives that she wasn't.

"Yes. It was damaged today from Dr. Viper's latest heist. I'm sure that you've heard about it, right?"

Jake and Chance gave each other a quick glance and gave them a nervous laugh. They felt a tad guilty that her car was damaged because of them, but that was a con that came with the job of protecting the innocent.

"Yeah, we heard that the SWAT Kats stopped him cold again. I can't believe that he's tried to bust in there three times already." Chance piped in. "How many hits do you have to take before you learn?"

The two she-kats smiled and chuckled.

"Yes, that's true. They're going to have to start raising the security in that place soon. I'd like to have a safe environment to work in."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So what do you think guys? Is my car repairable?" Naomi asked.

The two kats inspected the car. The dent was right above the back left wheel and the trunk had some sizable dents in it as well, along with some paint damage. Surprisingly, the windshields were undamaged.

"It's going to take a while to fix, but this is about a week's worth of work. Is that ok with you?"

Naomi nodded and smiled. "Oh wow, really? Yes, that's fine. I honestly expected it'd take a bit longer than that."

Callie shot her a sly smile, directing her attention at Jake and placed a hand on Naomi's shoulder.

"I told you that they were good at what they do." she said as she winked at him.

Jake blushed a bit and looked away from them, hoping that Chance didn't notice her subtle flirting. That all flew out the window when he could feel Chance's eyes drilling into him; he could feel the spring like day turn into a blistering summer day instantly. Jake cleared his throat nervously before he spoke again.

"A-anyways, like I said, it'll be a week before you can have your car back. Unfortunately, we don't have rental cars."

"It's okay, Jake. Callie has offered to carpool with me since we live in the same high rise and our schedules are almost similar. Thanks for the warning. I appreciate everyone's help." she said as she looked at everyone and smiled.

She took a quick peek at her cell phone and noticed the time.

"I think that it'd be best if we'd get going. I have to go to the Enforcers Headquarters to discuss what happened today. Thank you all for your time!"

"No problem! Any friend of Callie's is a friend of ours!" Chance said shaking her paw again.

Naomi quickly wrote her contact information on a small piece of paper from a notepad that she had in her purse and gave it to Jake.

"Thank you again!" she said again and smiled sweetly at him. Callie said her goodbyes and the two could see Callie's car disappear into the horizon towards Megakat City.

"So Jake," Chance said as Jake turned to him.

"You know where this is going, buddy. What's the deal with the she-kat? And how did you manage to know such a smart one?"

Jake shot in an angry glare.

"If you knew her, I'd be asking you the same question, you jerk!"

Chance laughed as the two walked back inside and sat on the couch to finish their cans of milk. Jake took a sip while Chance gave him a "spill the beans" look. Jake looked away as he continued to stare at him. After a short time, Jake placed the can on the coffee table and looked Chance in the eye.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stare?!"

Chance grinned mischievously. "I'm not going to stop doing this until you spill the beans, buddy. You've never mentioned her before. Don't do it and all of your beloved plants will be taking up a new residence in the incinerator."

Jake rolled his eyes as he sighed. He didn't want Chance to touch his plants. He spent a ton of time and effort to make them add some life to the dull garage.

"Fine! I'll tell you about Naomi."

Chance snapped his claws and chuckled. "Hot damn! Tell me all about it, buddy. I'm waiting…" he said while putting his paws on the coffee table to relax.

"I've never told you about her because I haven't seen or talked to her since high school. We were in the same class…"

* * *

 _*flashback - 7 years ago*_

Naomi was the class valedictorian. Everyone knew that she was smart, but because of her nerdy appearance, she was teased a lot. She was also thought to be a snob because of her intelligence. She wasn't interested in participating in sports and kept mostly to herself.

The last bell of the day rang and everyone rushed out to the hallways. Naomi closed her textbook and headed for the the science lab to finish a project that she was working on. She had been working on making an oil that was completely biodegradable and she was eager to finish her research. She finally arrived at the classroom and opened the door. The room was practically empty, except for one kat.

His back was turned to her and he appeared to be working on something. She didn't recognize him, so she cleared her throat.

"Eh hmm?"

He kat turned to meet her. He had a small item in his paw.

"Who are you? I've never seen you in here before." she said, still remaining at the door.

"I could say the same for you. I'm Jake. Jake Clawson. I'm in the engineering club. Are you trying to join today? It's kind of late in the year to join, but we can talk to the club president."

Naomi pushed her glasses up and looked away.

"No. You're in the wrong room. You guys are next door." she said pointing to her right. "This is the chemistry science lab."

Jake looked around and realized his mistake. He blushed bashfully and rubbed the back of his head.

"It seems that you're right! I'm sorry." he said as he grabbed his backpack.

Naomi shook her head. "It's alright. Everyone makes mistakes."

She quickly started to set up her experiment and notes. She took a seat and started working on the project, totally engrossed in her own world. Jake stared at her in awe. He'd never seen a kat so engrossed and happy in working the way she did. It seemed to be natural to her.

* * *

"I had a small crush on her as time went on. She wasn't like the other she-kats at school. She actually had a brain!" Jake said.

"Then ask her out, buddy! You got handed a reunion, so take advantage of it! Ask her out!" Chance replied with a grin.

Jake gave him a rejecting look.

"No! That was in the past...it was so long ago! Besides, I don't think that she would be interested. You just don't hound a she-kat as soon as you meet them and ask them out!"

It was Chance's turn to give in an "are you kidding" look mixed with annoyance.

"And this is why you don't have a she-kat. You're too scary!"

Jake's mouth widened with shock and annoyance.

"I'm not scared!" he argued. "She might even have a kat!"

"Then ask her out if you're not scared! It ain't _that_ hard! You never know unless you try!" Chance said as he left for the kitchen for another can of milk, leaving Jake to debate with himself. He popped his head out and grinned.

"Hurry it up and ask her out! When you go out with her, put in a good word with her about me so she can brag to Callie about me! It'll be easier for me to ask Callie out!" he said with a grin.

"I'm not going to do your dirty work, Chance!"

Chance's face didn't falter. "At least I know how to work it!" He quickly tossed Jake another can of milk.

"You'll need this before working on your girlfriend's car!" he said before he laughed, walking back to the garage. Jake rolled his eyes and opened up the can, taking a large gulp. He couldn't stand his friend sometimes.

* * *

At Enforcer Headquarters, Naomi had finished the last of her testimony with Lieutenant Feral. The two she-kats shook paws and have each other a smile.

"Thank you Doctor Briggs. I'm sure that your testimony will be a great help. We'll beef up security at the labs while you and your team work on your research."

"I'd appreciate it, Lieutenant Feral. I just hope that Dr. Viper's attacks will cease soon. He keeps putting me behind in work, he's scaring my interns and I had to put my car in the shop! This has given me a huge headache!" she complained as she ran a paw through her dark brown hair. Felina chuckled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Sounds like another day here at the Enforcers! We'll keep in touch."

Naomi grabbed her purse and Felina walked her out to the lobby. Callie walked up to them as they said their final goodbyes.

"Thank you again, Lieutenant Feral."

Felina nodded her head from side to side. "Just call me Felina. You're Callie's cousin and she speaks highly of you. Also we'll be seeing each other more now that the labs are on high alert. Might as well start a friendship now." she winked.

Callie and Naomi laughed.

"Then call me Naomi. I'm not used to my new title yet. It's weird enough that the interns call me "Dr. Briggs" and they're not that much younger than me."

Felina smirked. "I love it, actually. My trainees need to know their place and what they'll be dealing with. It's kind of refreshing, actually."

Suddenly, Naomi's stomach emitted a loud growl and she blushed out of embarrassment.

"Because of today's fiasco, I didn't get to eat my lunch…" she admitted.

"Then let's go get some dinner. I'm hungry too." Callie replied.

"I would join you guys, but I'm on duty until 11. Have fun!" Felina said.

They all separated and went on about the rest of their day. The two cousins decided to dine out at a bistro near the beach. Naomi was happy when her grilled salmon arrived while Callie had ordered a tuna steak.

"Thanks again for all of your help today, Callie. Thanks for offering to carpool with me too."

Callie took a sip of her red wine before replying.

"No problem! Anything for my favorite cousin."

Naomi smiled and took a sip of her white wine.

"So, I didn't know that you knew Jake. Why didn't you tell me you two had some history?"

Naomi choked a bit on her wine and cleared her throat. "You're talking as if we dated or something, Callie! There was nothing to tell! He was just my classmate." she said before taking a drink of water.

"But when you guys saw each other again, you both started rambling off at the mouth as if you were good friends, leaving Chance and I wondering how a simple visit turned into a reunion."

Naomi took another bite of her dinner. "Call it what you like Callie, but it was just a coincidence that you happened to take me there."

She then took the wine glass and slowly swished the glass around, looking down sadly.

"I don't see it going anywhere, honestly. You know that I don't have any luck with kats!"

"Don't say that! You're beautiful and smart! You're a great catch. What's there not to like?"

Naomi managed a small smile. "Yeah but no one is into a nerd like me…I've always been different, you know that."

"And that's what makes you special, Naomi. Remember that I'm single too! It's a shame that there are such slim pickings among kats!"

They both laughed, finished their meals and drove home. After saying their goodbyes, Naomi took and shower and got ready for bed. After she put on her pajamas, she gave herself a good look in the mirror and gave herself a pep talk.

' _You are special! You're fine just the way you are!'_ she thought.

' _Tomorrow is another day...just go with the flow…_ besides, anything could happen...right?'


	3. Baby Steps

**Hello everyone!**

 **Thank you crystal-shinobi and SirTobi3 for adding this story to their alert list and for favoring the story! Thank you Ladydaisys for being the first to review! Everyone's support is greatly appreciated!**

 **Please enjoy and happy reading! Please review and let me know your thoughts.**

 **Chapter 3 - Baby Steps**

Out of all the times to be without a car, it would have to be this week. Naomi was regretting not getting a rental while her car was in the shop. Five days had passed and Naomi was almost at her wits end. Thanks to Dr. Viper's last attempted heist, her lab was partially damaged and was currently under construction. She only had a few minutes to retrieve some of her research and personal belongings before Megakat Construction roped it off from entry.

She ended up having to share an office with Dr. Michael Coon, a big, burly and notoriously snobby senior researcher who didn't care for the younger staff. He mostly glared at her and didn't say a word to her, which she was fine with. The less he had to say, the better.

Later that week, she also got sucked into being a teaching assistant at her alma mater, Eastern Megakat University. Dr. Tabitha Shorthair, an old professor of hers had visited the labs in hopes of her lending a paw to help him out. She had been one of her star pupils and before she could decline, her boss, Dr. Russia Blue, had done what she had coined "volunforced" her into it. Since she was temporarily evicted from her research lab, her boss he deemed the teaching assistant gig as a sort of "break" from work, since the task at hand was somewhat related to her job. Naomi was happy to be away if it meant to be as far away from Dr. Maine as possible, but it was definitely not in her plans to be assisting with and teaching one class session a week for three sections for advanced chemistry level 2 classes.

The moon was high in the sky and she finally reached her high-rise condo. Callie was very generous in picking her up from the university after clocking out hours before herself. After the elevator stopped on the 22nd floor, the two cousins bid aideu and Naomi shoved her key into the keyhole and shoved the door open before closing it with her foot, kicking off her high heels and relishing the comfort of not having to wear them anymore. She dumped her chinese take out, purse and her overstuffed briefcase on her kitchen table and let out a huge sigh. She had a big weekend ahead of her; she had the privilege of checking project research papers from her newfound pupils and also had to do some of her own research on her latest project. Rumors were going around that she was developing a specialty serum that could improve an engine's lifespan and speed and that it could change the engineering industry, but she wanted to keep it under wraps until her research was complete.

She covered her face in frustration just thinking about her to-do list. It was enough to prompt her to pour herself a glass of wine before eating her meal. As she walked back to the table, she glanced over at her office. A stack of books were stacked next to a pile of papers, a laptop and computer monitor and a locked tackle box. She took another sip of wine.

 _'This is going to be a long weekend…'_

* * *

Jake and Chance just finished applying the last layer of tuxedo metallic clearcoat paint on Naomi's car. They were proud; the car looked showroom ready, as if nothing never happened to the car. They had long ago closed the shop for the day, taking in extra car hours earlier. The addition of the cars kept them busy all day, but they were proud that the majority of the work was almost done. Luckily for them, there were no emergencies that the SWAT Kats had to be called in for.

"I think that we've earned ourselves a can of milk, buddy." Chance said while cheesing at his reflection in the paint. Jake chuckled but didn't bother to look towards him from the other side of the car. "You always think that we've earned ourselves a can of milk Chance. The way you're going, we're going to end up as addicts."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Jake!" he replied. "Milk's good for the soul! Keeps ya sane."

"Whatever you say, buddy." Jake stored the paint gun and wiped his brow before looking around at their stock. "You're right, Chance. We've definitely earned us some milk. I'm beat!"

Something caught Jake's eye and he quickly extended his paw to to quickly catch the flying object. "Way ahead of you, buddy. I knew that you'd see it my way." he snickered.

Chance had beat him into opening his can and Jake quickly joined him. "So…" Chance said. "You gonna call your she-kat tonight and tell her to pick up her car or you gonna wait until the morning?"

Jake choked a bit while he drank his milk before glaring at him. "She's not my she-kat, Chance!"

"She would be if you asked her out."

Jake blushed. "I'm not asking her out!"

Chance finished the last sip of his can of milk. "And this is why you don't have a she-kat. Don't come to me complaining when Callie and I get together, seeing us all hugged up and stuff."

Jake looked away, still blushing. "You and your fun isn't any of my business, Chance. Love will come for me when the time is right."

"And it'd come sooner if you'd ask Naomi out." he retorted.

"I just can't ask her out now, even if I wanted to! I haven't seen her in years! She'll probably think I'm a creep! Wanting to get to know her all of a sudden and all!"

Chance patted Jake on his back. "Don't sweat it, buddy! I'll ask Callie out soon and I'll get her to set up a date with you and Naomi. Problem solved!" he said as he flashed his cheesy smile.

"Don't you dare play matchmaker with us! She might have a kat of her own!"

"What better way to find out by asking Callie?" he replied. "Or better yet: asking Naomi yourself!"

Jake stayed quiet for a moment. "Come on, Jake. It's not rocket science...and you're good at that stuff."

"And what does that mean, Chance?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"Just ask the she-kat out!" he replied before leaving the room.

Jake sighed and walked to the office phone. He looked through Naomi's client file to find her phone number. The digital clock displayed 9:15 P.M. He looked at her number and sighed again. He found his heart was racing faster at the thought of calling her.

 _'Calm down, Jake. She's a client...another she-kat…'_ he thought. ' _A smart and beautiful she-kat…'_

He picked up the receiver to dial her number. He only hoped that she wouldn't be too angry with was he considered was a late phone call.

* * *

Naomi had just finished half of her take-out and watched an episode of a Japanese drama by the time Jake had called. The sound of her phone surprised her and she wondered who would be calling her. She reluctantly pulled herself away from her happy place and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hello Naomi. It's Jake, from the Salvage Yard. I hope that I'm not calling you too late."

Hearing Jake's voice made her blush a bit. She was happy that he wasn't around to see it or her in her loungewear.

"No, no, you're fine Jake." she replied. "What can I help you with?"

"I was calling to let you know that your car is finished. You can pick it up tomorrow morning.

"OH THANK GOD!" she quickly responded, shocking Jake on the other line, who thought that her outburst was uncharacteristic of her. Luckily for her, her found it to be amusing. Embarrassed by her outburst, she quickly composed herself. "I mean, thank goodness! It's perfect timing! You have no idea how hard my week was without it!" she complained. "I'll call a taxi in the morning so I can pick up my car. I would ask Callie, but I know how much she prefers to sleep in on the weekends…"

Jake paused for a moment. He felt like his voice had left him and although Chance's words and unsolicited advice annoyed him, he knew that he was right. Jake wasn't a bold kat to begin with. Asking her out took him out of his comfort zone. At that time, he wished that he could be more like Chance.

"I could pick you up and save you from paying taxi fare, if you like." he found himself blurting out. _'Did I really just say that?!'_

Naomi was silent for a moment and worried Jake. _'I just creeped her out. I knew it!'_

"Are you sure that's okay? I don't want to inconvenience you...I'm sure that you and Chance are very busy."

"No, no. We've actually caught up on most of our workload. Me taking a small break won't slow us down."

Naomi unconsciously started to twirl her hair in her slender hand. "If that's true, then I accept your kind offer. Thank you, Jake!"

Jake's heart felt light and he released a quiet sigh of relief. "Okay. Is 9 A.M. a good time?"

"Y-yes. That's perfectly fine. Thank you again."

"Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow morning at 9. Have a good night."

"Good night." she said sweeter than she intended. Both ended the call with a blush on their faces. Soon, the two found themselves trying to plan out a casual outfit for the morning.


End file.
